We like to think that legacy is seen and felt in the form of monuments or buildings. If one is named after you or erected in your likeness, then it serves as proof of a life well lived and that you've done something remarkable with your time here.

But I'm always reminded, usually when asking people who they admire, that legacy is more often written on hearts than it is on plaques. Impact is measured in human heartbeats much more than it is in pounds of granite.

So don't worry that what you do will get you an airport or building wing or museum named in your honor. Worry rather that what you do will get you talked about fondly by those you love the most.

What this calls for, then, are fewer acts of grand ambition and more acts of conscious love and care.

What we think is permanent (a stone building) rarely is and what seems so non-physical (memories and stories) are always what stick around the longest.